Plethora Lesson 1

1. Lesson 1 : The Present Tense

2. - Unit 1 – Present Continuous (I am doing)
- Unit 2 – Present Simple (I do)
- Unit 3 – Present Continuous and Present Simple 1
- Unit 4 – Present Continuous and Present Simple 2

3. Unit 1 – Present Continuous (I am doing)
Study this example situation:
Chloé is on her bicycle. She is on her way to the park. She is cycling to the park.
This means: She is cycling now - the action is not Iinished.
Am / is / are + -ing is the Present Continuous
I am (= I’m) driving
he/she/it is (= he’s) working
we/you/they are (= we’re) doing

4. Unit 1 – Present Continuous (I am doing)
I am doing something = I’m in the middle of doing it (I’ve started and haven’t Iinished)
“Where’s Kate?” “She’s having a shower” (not She has a shower)
Am / is / are + -ing is the Present Continuous
“Hi David. Are you enjoying the concert?” (not Do you enjoy)
Sometimes, the action is not happening at the time of speaking. But it is an ongoing activity.
“I’m reading a very interesting book
about the French Revolution.”
The Present Continuous can be used with Today / this week / this year / etc
“You’re getting a lot of tweets today.”
“Our facebook fan page isn’t getting a lot of buzz this week.”
We use the Present Continuous to talk about changes that are happening,
especially with these verbs:
get change become increase rise fall grow improve begin start

5. Unit 2 – Present Simple (I do)
Study this example situation:
Hector is a taxi driver, but now he is asleep.
He is not driving a taxi.
yet, He drives a taxi (he is a taxi driver)
Drive(s) / Work(s) / Do(es) is the Present Simple
I/we/you/they drive/work/do
he/she/it drives/works/does

6. Unit 2 – Present Simple (I do)
We use the Present Simple to talk about things in general - Routine Stuff or General Truths
“The Earth is round”
We use the Present Simple to say how often we do things:
“How often do you go jogging?”
We use do / does to make questions and negative sentences:
Sometimes we do things by saying something.
I apologise ... / I advise ... / I insist .../ I agree .... / I refuse ..../ I promise ..../ etc
“School starts at 8 o’clock” “I usually arrive late at night”
“I go jogging once every leap year...”
do
does
I / we / you / they
he / she / it
work? drive? do?
I / we / you / they
he / she / it
don’t
doesn’t
work / drive / do

7. Unit 3 – Present Continuous and Present Simple 1 (I am doing and I do)
past futurenow
I am doing
Present Continuous (I am doing)
past futurenow
Present Simple (I do)
I do
The water is boiling The water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
What language are they speaking? Do you speak greek?
I am getting tired. I always get tired after lunch.
I’m living with some friends. I live in Manhattan.
Temporary Situations Permanent Situations
I always do (something) I’m always doing (something)
I’m always losing my keys.
= I do this very often, perhaps too often.
I always do my homework.
= I do it every time

8. Unit 4 – Present Continuous and Present Simple 2 (I am doing and I do)
when Think = believe, we do not use the continuous.
Some verbs cannot be used in a “continuous” way - we can’t say “I am knowing” or
“they are liking” - we say “I know” and “they like”.
like want need prefer
know realise suppose mean understand believe remember
belong fit contain consist seem
I think that is a great idea. ( not I’m thinking )
when Think = consider, we the continuous is possible.
Joanne is thinking about hiking the Andes. (= she is considering it.)
See, Hear, Smell and Taste normally use the Present Simple.
Do you see that man over there? (not Are you seeing) I can hear a strange noise. Can you hear it?
Look, Feel - we can use either the Present Continuous or the Present Simple to say how somebody looks or feels now.
You look good today. or You are looking good today.
He is selIish = He is generally selIish, noy only at this moment
He is being selIish = He behaving in a selIish way at the moment
We use am/is/are being to say how someone is BEHAVING
Sarah is very worried (not is being very worried)